Ccw has entered into a cross-border collaborative venture with Cardiff and London-based firm, Capital Law.

The association will see senior members of each firm acting as consultants to make it easier and more cost effective for clients to operate throughout Scotland, England and Wales.

Fife-based CCW believes it is a unique collaboration for the Scottish legal sector, and will help to break down the barriers created by separate legal systems in the UK.

John Clarke, a founding partner at CCW, said: "Clients need and expect their lawyers to provide a rounded or seamless service which increasingly means helping resolve issues relating to overseas subsidiaries or working through legal wrangles about foreign terms and conditions. This has historically caused as many issues in the UK as further afield.

Innovative: "Although CCW has always encouraged its team to become dual qualified, the simple fact is, almost 20 years as members of a large international network have shown lawyers and clients recognise the best people to advise on foreign issues are those working day in day out in those jurisdictions.

"When there is no existing relationship between the original firm and the firm to which the client is referred, this can quite often lead to mis-matches between the client's expectations and the service provided.

"With that in mind, we are confident this unique partnership will overcome such issues, giving clients real peace of mind."

Ccw has offices in Edinburgh, Dunfermline and Salisbury, and has worked extensively in English andWelsh law prior to this new venture.

Property partner Michael Dewar is dual-qualified and advises clients on English and Welsh and Scots law.

CCW's John Clarke

However, the association with Capital Law will allow the firm to extend this service across its other core business areas which include corporate work, the creative industries and employment.

Ccw has also been working with Avrio-Advocati, the international network of law firms, and is now linked with 36 firms from the EU, Turkey, Brazil, and China which it calls on to advise on their local laws. The result, said the firm, is a cost-effective equivalent of having an overseas office.